For the first time in Britain, all companies and public sector bodies with 250 or more employees will be required to disclose the difference between the average pay of their male and female employees. (Image: Getty Images)

Read More

The deadline for the public sector to report is 30 March, and private sector firms have until 4 April.

According to figures from the Scottish Government, there were 2,365 private sector enterprises as of March 2017 with 250 or more employees in Scotland. That figure does not include public sector bodies with the minimum number of staff.

However, of the 530 UK organisations that have so far filed their information at gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk , only 29 are registered in Scotland.

Smaller employers, government departments, charitable bodies and arms-length organisations also feature on the list.

Of those registered in Scotland who have so far disclosed their data, CYBG – the group that owns Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks – has revealed the biggest gap with a 37 per cent divide between the mean salaries of men and women.

This is followed by TSB Bank at 31 per cent.

Across the UK as a whole, less than 6 per cent of organisations have submitted figures ahead of the April deadline.

Experts have suggested that a significant proportion will fail to meet the legally-mandated time frame for disclosure.

The reliability of these figures has also been called into question. According to a report in the Financial Times, a handful have changed the data they have submitted , and more than a third have failed to publish supporting information.

The FT also noted that 31of the UK total had reported identical pay gaps by both mean and median measures, which statistically is a highly unlikely outcome. Of the 31, 24 submitted data showing both measures at zero.

Three in Scotland fall into the “double zero” category: retailer Watt Brothers, Erskine Hospital in Glasgow, and Lorimer Care Home of Glasgow.

Of those reporting a measurable difference, the lowest were: Alcohol and Drugs Action of Aberdeen (0.7 per cent); SENSE Scotland of Glasgow (2.6 per cent); The Action Group of Edinburgh (2.7 per cent); Bon Accord Care (3.6 per cent); Registers of Scotland (4 per cent); Robert Gordon's College of Aberdeen (5.2 per cent) and HighLife Highland of Inverness (5.4 per cent).

Read More

In addition, there are a handful who say that on the mean average, they pay female staff more than men: The Donaldson Trust of Linlithgow (6.4 per cent higher); Arnold Clark Finance (5.2 per cent higher); St Andrews Brewers (5 per cent higher); Renaissance Care of Midlothian (3.8 per cent higher); Abbotsford Care of Kirkcaldy (1.3 per cent higher); and Edinburgh Leisure (1.1 per cent higher).

While women within the finance division of Arnold Clark make more money on average than their male counterparts, the opposite is true within the automotive division of the group. Within Arnold Clark Autos, the mean earnings of female workers are 14.6 per cent lower than men's.